Warriors: Rise of Three
Chpater 7
(a/n): Well, I'm still alive and no flames! Thank you for the maturity, reviewers! I have to do a time-cut here because we need to get onto the rest of the plotline… THE KITS! Especially the evil kitty… Who is the evil kit? By the way, the battle between the Clans is over now… Crowy died!! WAH! So, without further ado… a few moons later! (The kits are now eleven moons old…)
"Then I give you your warrior name… Shadowtail!"
The Clan echoed the warrior name gloriously around the camp, the meows or approval bouncing against the cavern walls. The black tom sat taller. A warrior. He was a warrior. Ha, take that Streamclaw!
Now she can't use the whole "warrior-apprentice" thing on me!
He nodded gratefully at the Clan and ran to his sister, Winterstream, now the official medicine cat of ThunderClan due to Leafpool's sudden lack of interest after Crowfeather's death. Now, the tabby she-cat laid in the back of the den, giving few pointers, skipping Gatherings, and being forced to eat. The Clan, at first, was devestated, but now it was just another fact of Clan life. She had chosen her path, and the Clan now looked to Winterstream, the youngest medicine cat in a long while, for guidance.
"Winterstream! I'm a warrior! Where's Rosepaw? I can't wait to tell her my warrior name!" Shadowtail bounced around the den, not daring to look at his mother who was cleaning her unkept fur for the occasion.
"She was in here a moment ago, right before you came… maybe she's hunting with Sootfur again… Come on… we'll go look for her…" Winterstream nodded at Leafpool and left, an unspoken agreement between them. No one had attempted speaking to Leafpool in moons, no one except Winterstream. The she-cat still had hope for her mother, hope that was slowly dimming.
"She has to stop doing this… the Clan will never respect her eno-ugh to be a warrior until she cares for more besides hunting with Sootfur…" Shadowtail scolded angrily. He didn't like the rumors going around the Clan about his sister, about how she would betray the Clan like her mother. Rosepaw respected the warrior code, anyone could see that. If only Dustpelt could get her to respect him more…
The finally found their sister in her nest, completely alone, staring at the bramble wall a few inches from her face. Her eyes were blank and emotionless, her voice dry.
"Congratulations, Shadowtail."
"Rosepaw… what's wrong?" Winterstream ran to her side and began prodding her with her paw. Her sister would usually be angry and furious about Shadowtail becoming a warrior before her. Why was she so… empty?
"Nothing… Sootfur and I went hunting… and then I came back here… and now you're here…" Sarcasm found its way into her voice for a split second before being fought away.
Winterstream wasn't so convinced. Her sister had been falling into moods like this for short periods of time, and then she'd be herself again. By now, the medicine cat knew what was wrong, but she chose to deny it around Shadowtail. He wouldn't know…
"Allright… Rosepaw… Winterstream… I'm going to go hunt near the border. G'bye…"
Hunt near the border. He was going to see their sister, Feathertail.
"Rosepaw… are you going to have kits?"
"Why do you care? Everyone thinks I'm a disappointment anyway. Leafpool was counting on us to regain her honor, and I've destroyed what hope we've given her!"
"Tell Firestar… or Squirrelflight… they'll care for you… I will, too…"
"No, I don't deserve any of that. The Clan will never know! No one will… No one can…" Rosepaw ran from the den, off to find Sootfur. Winterstream doubted he knew…
Feathertail sat on the border, clearly waiting for her meeting with her brother. It was all she looked forward to during the day, now that Crowfeather was dead. How could the Clan do this to her? How could StarClan do this to her? She was a loyal warrior… but the Clan treated her as if she was some spirit. Barkface told her she was named after one of the noblest cats ever… so why wasn't she treated that way?
Shadowtail bounded through the bracken. Jusat him, no Rosepaw, Winterstream, or Leafpool. Of course, she kne wit'd be only him. No one else ever came anymore. It was like she was forgotten about, even at the Gatherings. At least she could still talk to Shadowtail occasionally.
"Feathertail! I'm Shadowtail now! Isn't that great? We're both warriors, and Winterstream's the medicine cat! Rosepaw's still an apprentice, but when she's a warrior, we can all see each other again! I bet we co-uld get Leafpool to come, too, if we tried hard enough! Isn't this great?"
He was so naïve. She couldn't bare to tell him that Leafpool would never come or get better.
"Yeah, that'd be great…"
